Pages

They are selfless. Courageous. Dedicated. They live at the edge of danger 24/7. And you, like most of New Eden, probably haven't given them a single thought. And that is just the way they want it.

But look closely at your killmails, and you will see them. They are relentlessly perfect at PvP. They are the elite squadron of Faction Police that guard the Plex Structures, dolling out tiny bits of damage to offenders and ruining the otherwise spotless solo attacks of pirates.

Little is known about them, where they come from, what kind of training they get, and how they manage to maintain such a spotless record. So, in pure VICE style, we sent our EVEOGANDA Reporter Andrea Cooper to New Caldari to find out more.

New Caldari: Secret Location
The morning mist covers most of this installation, which is appropriate considering the amount of secrecy involved with filming here. For the past six weeks I've been negotiating and bargaining my way thru layers of Caldari bureaucracy, institutional roadblocks, and secrecy in order to to get someone to even admit this place exists. This is the super-secret, and never filmed before, training facilities for the elite Caldari State Troopers.

Now that the mist is rising, you can clearly see the Merlin Simulators rising in the distance. It is an awe-inspiring sight, but sadly filming and photography have been banned as part of our negotiations. Our Warden, and constant companion, is Senior Trooper Binks Hardass. In an interesting side-note, our readers may remember the Hardass family, as they are quite the prominent and influential Caldari family. Binks is not a Capsuleer in the traditional sense, but his immortality is just as assured. The remaining details regarding his transformation are strictly off limits to questioning. But I did manage to get him to open up about other subjects.

"I can confirm the popular myth regarding our "red shirts", all Troopers of the State wear a scarlet shirt under our uniforms. This has been a Trooper tradition for as long as anyone can remember. Our Red Shirts symbolize the blood spilled in service to the State. And while the details regarding the origin of this tradition have been lost to time, it is believed that the first Commander, Kirk, may have started the tradition."

When pressed regarding the details of their service, the long hours of solitary vigilance within the wide-flung Faction Structures, the dangers of outlaw space, and the corps spotless military record, Binks became even more open.

"We serve the State."

Indeed, service to the State is voluntary, but even so one if left wondering how much of this strict military existence is left to choice.

"We don't spend a lot of time training on weaponry and offensive tactics." He admitted, "Most of our training revolves around defense, avoidance tactics and low-grade conflict resolutions."

This might start explaining the ability of the Troopers to avoid a single ship loss. But even so, a perfectly spotless record seems beyond imagination. It has long been speculated that all losses are swept under the rug and officially denied by the State. Further speculation revolves around several captured communications transcripts that report to show Troopers contacting known Pirate Corporations with Intel.

"I can't comment on speculation."

I can confirm that the largest building within the installation is dedicated to making and serving the best doughnuts that this reporter has ever tasted. There are several doughnut breaks throughout the day's training regime.

I leave New Caldari a bit wiser than when I arrived, but the State Troopers remain an enigma to me. Those that I met seemed dedicated to the cause, but one wonders at the cost. Is it worth it?

We may never know the real answer. Back to you Rixx.

Thanks Andrea. In other news, the Gurista Trooper Association issued this statement, "Death to Caldari Scum!! We know where you live Coppers!!"

A is for Astero

This little Frigate does it all, but most pilots use it to hide and avoid trouble. Which is a shame, because this Frigate can bring the hurt when properly fitted. Plus, it is fun to fly. It ain't cheap though, so that's a problem. We don't like problems. Already with the problems!

B is for Black Ops

One minute you are minding your own business and the next you are completely surrounded by a huge fleet of nasty ships with no hope of escape? That is the fun result of a Black Op, which isn't that much fun on your end. You really need to lighten up. And get some friends.

C is for CCP

They live in Iceland. On purpose! Yep, a bunch of Vikings developed Eve and that pretty much tells you everything you need to know about this dark, foreboding, harsh and incredibly awesome universe. They are all really nice people though.

D is for DPS

Damage Per Second. It sounds complicated, but it is the ultimate decision maker for life and death fights in New Eden. Either deal it or take it, the outcome surely depends on how much you can do both. Deal with it. And train those skills. D could have been for Drake, but no one really flies that thing anymore.

E is for ECM

Electronic Counter Measures. If that sounds like a mouth-full of letters, it is! It is also horribly dishonorable when someone uses it against your ship. Not so much when you use it against someone else's ship. You have every right to rail about that in local, so feel free.

F is for Falcon

ECM is so bad it gets two Alphabet mentions! The Falcon is the king of dishonor and seeing one in the gang of ships attacking you, pretty much assures that you will die... because of Falcon. Falcon is evil. Remember that. F is really for Frigate, but I'm so mad about Falcon! (lol)

G is for Gate

You can't get anywhere without jumping thru a Gate of one kind or another. Which also means G is for Game Mechanics, which is what you should learn in order to deal with Gates. Star Gates, Plex Gates, Station Gates, Wormhole gates, gates, gates, gates. And no, no one knows how they work. The best theory involves a demon that lives inside each one. Later tonight, there will be a blood-letting.

H is for Hurricane

The bestest overall ship in all of Eve, the Hurricane is a medium sized ship with a big heart. And while it is made by the Minmatar, it seems to hang together despite the rust. Extremely customizable, the Hurricane is just really good at what it does. And there is nothing wrong with that.

I is for ISK

ISK! Its a gas, grab that cash with both hands and make a stash. New ship, faction mods, four stabs, day-dream, think I'll buy me a Tourney Team! But if you ask for a rise, its no surprise, they're giving none away. Away. Away. Awwwaayyy.

J is for Justice!

You thought it was gonna be for Jaguar didn't you? But no, it isn't!! It stands for the one thing you cannot have in Eve - Justice! It doesn't exist, you can't buy it, sell it, or otherwise ever expect it to happen. All you can do is wait. And hope. And scheme. Some plotting might also help.

K is for Killing

Billions of people are slaughtered every day in New Eden. It is genocide on a grand scale. Luckily there seem to be an unending supply of more people to take their place. When you think about it, the universe must be full of love! Love makes children, and more children grow up into more crew members! Who fall in love and make more crew members. So really, Eve is all about Love.

L is for Low Sec

The area of New Eden that no one pays any attention to, that no one really understands, that has no impact on the Meta Game (whatever that is) and that is populated by people that consider Eve a game. So sad. Poor Low Sec.

M is for Mittani

When you luck into one of the biggest events in Eve history your head becomes so large it blots out an entire side of the map. But really, could the letter M stand for anything else? Love him or loathe the very earth upon which he strides, you gotta admit his head is rather small in reality. Tiny little dood. Strange.

N is for Null Sec

The area of New Eden where real men play a real game with real rewards and real... uh, dangers. Cause it is full of cut-throat independent Alliances each striving to control a well-distributed and balanced array of rich moons, belts and mission hubs. What do you mean? It isn't like that at all? Well goddamn.

O is for Officer Mods

For those poor souls who, for no good reason, decide to throw caution to the wind and totally fit up their mission running ship with as much bling as humanly possible. God bless them. And please come to Low Sec!

P is for Pirate

Yarr!! I suspect everyone knows how I feel about this letter. IT"S THE BEST!! STAY FROSTY!! Woot.

Q is for Quad Light Beam Lasers

Simply because it is the only thing I could think of that starts with the letter Q. Beam lasers are useless by the way.

R is for Rifter

The most iconic ship in all of Eve, the Rifter is still a great little Frigate that deserves to be flown as often as possible. Don't listen to all the naysayers out there, fit one up and fly it. Good times. You will explode of course. But you'll have fun until then.

S is for Stabs

The last resort of the risk-averse in New Eden. Once proud ships reduced to sporting 3 or 4 or 5 of these damn things, all to avoid PvP in a PvP game. S is also for Sadness.

T is for Technetium

If ISK makes the universe go around, then ISK is in orbit around this stuff. It is the most bestest Moon mineral and makes people in Null Sec do the craziest things to each other. Other than that, I have no clue. I've never owned a Moon before.

U is for Unknown

When it comes right down to it, Eve is all about the mystery of what happens next, what lies beyond that next gate, what will the result be, what is lurking in the dark. Mystery. Unknown. Take an action and watch what happens, it is impossible to predict. CCP doesn't know, we don't know, no one does. So cool.

V is for Vagabond

I don't have anything clever to say about it, but this letter is owned by the Vaga. It is also sorta, kinda owned by the Vexor (the bestest Cruiser!!) and maybe pwned by the Vargur. So many good things start with the letter V. And I'll just stop typing now.

W is for Weapons

Eve has so many awesome weapons! And they make such cool noises when you fire them! It wasn't that long ago that firing a weapon in Eve was an invisible activity. I think we forget how awesome it finally is to have actual modules on our ships and weapon trails. It is such a small thing that added so much to the game! Never forget.

X is for X-Factor

The X-Factor in Eve is you my friend. Eve is a sandbox, you control your own destiny, your own direction, your own impact or lack thereof. You decide. You can literally do whatever you want and no one can tell you boo about it. (Within the expansive confines of the EULA of course) You are the Hero of this story. Well, I am the Hero of this story. But you are a player in it.

Y is for Whimps!

Stop asking so many questions and just undock and see what happens! Sheesh.

Z is for Station Spinners!!

Granted, this Alphabet has broken down a bit at the end here, but that's what always happens when we get to these weird letters at the end. But how can anyone sleep at a time like this!?!

I hope you enjoyed this romp through the Eve Alphabet. It took me a lot longer to write it than I anticipated and I was interrupted six times!!

I'm pretty sure Steve Jobs didn't have Eve in mind when he said it. But he could have easily been referring to our little corner of the virtual universe.

I don't want everyone that plays Eve to become a Pirate. That would be silly and rather devastating to the game we love. (That is actually a rather debatable, and yet politically correct, statement. In point of fact, Eve would probably be insanely awesome if everyone was a Pirate! But that is a topic for another post.)

Why do something boring when you can choose something not boring? Why grind when you can dance? I'm shaking my head as I write this part, because I can't believe I have to keep saying it. Yesterday I had no time for Eve. This weekend was one of the first really good weather weekends of the Spring, so it was time for outdoor work. Especially yesterday. I managed to eek out about 20 minutes last night in Eve.

In 20 minutes I got into a Stay Frosty gang, managed to get into four respectable fights and get into a solo match Slicer Vs Slicer. Which I won. I challenge anyone south of zero to imagine 20 minutes as well spent as that. More than likely, you wouldn't even bother logging on. In that twenty minutes I also let two new pilots into Corp, talked with my Director's about the AT schedule, and fought an eight man gang that had a Falcon with them.

Believe it or not, I am not dissing any other play-style. I do however, consider myself a sort of Ambassador for the best play-style that Eve has to offer. That is my opinion, and it may be my opinion alone. I'm ok with that. Let others defend their chosen field, my intention is to promote a certain type to play-style that I happen to enjoy immensely. One that I honestly believe is superior, fun, and more rewarding.

And certainly, the best place to enjoy that play-style is with the scum-sucking idiots of Stay Frosty. Can there be a better example of casual lunacy than the constantly undocking, fighting and yarr loving nut bags I get to log into each and every day? And, even better, we have an entire Alliance of options to choose from now. So even if full-time piracy isn't your thing, you have other options. Fly with us part-time. And do something else the rest of the time.

Yes, this is yet another recruitment post. Get your butt into A Band Apart. Choose our pirate corp Stay Frosty, our WormHole Corp Supreme Mathematics, or our HIgh-Sec industry Corp Lucifer's Hammer. All of us fly together, support each other, and generally have a great time not being very serious at all. And we have some surprises in store in the coming weeks that are going to be extremely exciting.

210 pirates is not enough. We still have room for more. We still have room for you.

-A Band Apart- Pilot Profiles is a new series of posts that feature players from our Alliance that share their stories, experiences, and play-styles.

This post features Khaemwese, a pilot in Stay Frosty for almost a month that I haven't had a chance to fly with much yet. Even I can't be on-line all the time... sadly.

• Tell us a little about your background in Eve.

I've been around since December 2007. At the time I was kind of tired of the fantasy theme and after playing games like Homeworld and Freelancer, I decided to look for an MMO set in space. Trinity had just come out and after seeing the ads, I new I had to give it a try. I really like complex games, the more complex and challenging, the happier I am. Something my kids never understood...

Since then, I've done a little bit of everything other than mining (to the miners out there, I'm sorry, but I'd rather put needles under my fingernails), although I did give gas mining a try back when we gas mined on battleships. Needless to say it was a very short attempt. Then in 2012 I saw an announcement for the Tuskers FFA #2 and being in a major sov alliance at that time doing almost daily CTAs and 4 hour roams, I thought it would be cool to try something different. I had a blast... That was when I decided that solo or small gang PvP was all I wanted to do. Unfortunately I did not do a lot of research and ended up on a smaller alliance living in NPC space with some great guys, but still following the same mainstream alliance values. I wanted to be free, I wanted to do casual 15 minutes PvP during my lunch break, I wanted to not worry about KB, ISK efficiency or structures being attacked, I wanted to Stay Frosty!

• How did you first hear about SF, LH and MATH?
So, I saw an add for the Stay Frosty FFA and I did some digging on what SF was about and I knew right away, that was where I was going to dock.

• What is it that you enjoy most about your Corp?
Such a nice bunch of pirates... SF is like a corp of 200 solo players, but all you need to do is ask and they will all rally up to help. It gives you freedom to do your thing, but somehow you still feel like you are part of something bigger.

• What have you learned since joining?
It's not much about what I've learned, but what I'm reminded of every day... Eve can be a relaxing fun game where you don't feel like it's a 2nd job. Unless, of course, the corp moves its HQ only a couple of days after you joined and you had just finished hauling all your stuff in...(EDITOR: Sorry about that.)

• Do you have any advice for players who want to start PvPing?
Be free, ask questions, but don't be restrained by what others consider important. Find your niche and if you realize you were mistaken, reinvent yourself and start over again. And above all, frustration will be part of your play time, learn how to use it to your benefit. Kicking your dog won't do you any good...

• What are your goals for yourself, or for your Corp?
Have a good time. If that helps my corp, even better.

• Do you have a funny Eve story you could share?
I was so excited when I got the skills to fly a Maelstrom, that I bought one using every single ISK I had and went out missioning. First mission was Rogue Drone Harassment... I locked the Mother Drone and fired away. Didn't care for the pesky drones spawning all around me and kept firing, I was on a mighty Maelstrom after all. A couple of minutes later I was docking on my pod. For those unfamiliar with that particular mission, it spawns 4 reinforcements waves at various damaged armor levels. I had 8x BCs, 8x Cruisers and 8x Frigates aggroing me at the end.

• What is your favorite thing about Rixx (lol)
He founded Stay Frosty! Other than that, I have no idea. We play at different times and have had very little interaction so far. But he does seem to be a nice guy.(EDITOR: We will eventually fly together!!)More to come.

Everyone seems to have their own definition of what a Pirate in Eve is exactly. The details vary from one person to the next, but the truth remains the same - it doesn't matter. Why are we so hung up on definitions anyway? Can't we all just relax and enjoy playing a game for once?! Sheesh. Why does my opening paragraph have so many question marks in it??

Whatever you call yourself, pirate, freedom fighter, faction soldier, pizza eater, or some other combination of the above - the essential element is Low Sec and PvP. All the rest is semantics. Chew on that when the beef jerky runs out on your way home in your Pod. And so, one would think, you'd rather be decent at Low Sec and PvP. You'd rather come out on the positive side of things, rather than the horrible "I have no moar iskies!!" side. So here are five randomly generated keys to achieving those somewhat murky goals for whatever you call yourself.

MITIGATE EXPENDITURES
Oh sure, someone might say, "Only fly what you can afford to lose" but those people are idiots. Cause you can't afford to lose anything. You really can't. Every loss stings, hurts, is painful and will cause a hole to appear in your precious wallet. Admit it. Live with it. It sucks to lose a ship, the mods, the rigs, all your hopes and dreams. Gone. Boom. But Rixx? What are we supposed to do then, spin in station? Never undock?

The point isn't to be risk-adverse, the point is to be risk savvy. Be smart about your assets and apply them within the proper context. These are valuable things you own, even a T1 Rifter with T1 guns, is an asset that shouldn't just be thrown away. Be smart. And then be foolish.

BE SMART, THEN BE FOOLISH (See what I did there?)
A Rifter doesn't defeat a Hookbill from sheer audacity and daring. No, it doesn't. A Rifter defeats a Hookbill by exploiting fall-off, overheating scram range, and hoping the Hookbill doesn't have the right ammo loaded and/or dual-webs. You win fights by being smarter than the other guy, exploiting his weaknesses and taking full advantage of your own strengths. Character comes from winning, not from losing. Being bold and daring is important, not to mention fun, but being smart is better. Learn game mechanics, understand your ship and the ships of your foes.

LOOT THE FIELD
Every asset you own becomes another asset you own. It is surprising to me how many people forget to steal, acquire and profit from the death of their enemy. Always, always, always loot. Take everything and if it doesn't fit, have someone else take it, or come back for it. (Or in rare cases, shoot it at least) No matter how horrible the loot fairy has been to you, take the left-overs. They can always be sold, dropped into the Corp Hangar, or broken down into minerals and eventually converted back into something useful. Loot left on the field is useless, or even worse, falls back into the hands of the enemy. And no one wants that to happen.

COUNTER PROGRAM
This could also be called doing the unexpected. Try not to be predictable. Be aware that your enemy is also aware, and use that knowledge to defeat him. There are so many examples of this, but one example is in ship fittings. While I am a huge believer in fitting ships to their strengths, weird fits for the sake of weird fits seldom work, there does come a time when fitting against type can work in your favor. Once everyone believes your ship is always a kiter, fitting it as a brawler can be totally unexpected. Again, this is only one example. Counter programming runs the gambit from strategy to tactics and is an excellent way of thinking about what you are doing. Keep the bad guys on their toes.

BE STRONG
Fear is the mind-killer. When people send you nasty emails, or bash you in local, or accuse you of blobbing, or using links, or any number of other nasty things? That is because you are doing something right! "Fair" is a perception that comes from the mind of a victim, not from the mind of the victor. A victor is hated, feared, and accused. A victor may know that he won from strength of arms, from smarts, from superior tactics, but he feels no need to explain himself. He doesn't have to, because he won. Victims hate that. So they hate you. Good. Let them. It only proves that you are doing something right, that you are actually a pirate, and that you are good at your job.

That doesn't mean you have to be an asshat. Lots of people get those things mixed up. Don't be one of those. We all have our role to play and always remember to respect your victim, have fun, and scream YARRR as you roll into a fight.

Poor Blob. Such a horrible word that has so often been attached to really horrible ideas. A truly slow moving horror, a truly fat super-villain, cartoon bad-guys, and a long list of equally disturbing images. The Blob is a shapeless, amoral conglomerate of snot, typically up to no good.

All of which it deserves. Lets be honest here, no one stands for The Blob. It is deservedly un-loved, reviled, and considered a bad thing to be avoided. Blob is no fun. Blob is bad. Blob needs to be shunned.

Blob is hard to define, but like most things that are hard to define - we know it when we see it. I don't know what that, that thing in the alleyway is exactly - but I'm pretty goddamn sure its a Blob! Blobs wash up on a beach and we poke it with sticks, no one is gonna touch the darn thing with their hands!! That is just how vile the prospect of a Blob is, we can't even bring ourselves to touch it.

In Eve a Blob is also considered a bad thing. Generally it is perceived as any un-equal application of force that is not associated with a Gate or Station. Because those are called Gate and/or Station Camps. Camps are different than Blobs, camps are fun times with your friends out in the woods. Living in tents, getting infested with Chiggers, and usually developing some kind of annoying rash. Camps are camps. Blobs are not camps. Blobs eat camps for breakfast.

Blobs are all about perception. What one person considers a blob another person considers their Mother's mashed potatoes. Which might be horrible and full of lumps, but that doesn't make them a Blob now, does it? No, a Blob is all about perception. Which makes identifying an actual bonafide Blob rather difficult. Out in the wild, Blobs can be hard to classify.

Not only are Blobs subject to perception, they are also extremely situational. One man's Blob is another man's tasty target. A Dramiel might consider three Frigates a Blob, but a small Cruiser fleet might consider three Frigates fair game. And those self-same Frigates might very well consider that Cruiser gang a Blob. It is all so very confusing.

I do not like confusion, so let me try to bring some rational thought to this discussion. First of all, it is extremely important to realize that the classification of anything as a "Blob" always comes from the loser of an engagement. The winners rarely consider what just happened as a "Blob". To a fault, the accusation and classification comes directly from someone that just lost his ship. They are excited, angry, pissed-off, disappointed in themselves (Mom always said they'd never amount to anything!) and frankly, can't be trusted to make accurate statements at that time. So whatever they say has to be taken with a grain of salt.

Let's try to define a Blob. "A Blob is any application of force which contains elements not necessary to the positive outcome of said application." In other words, three Frigates can be relatively sure of winning a fight against a Dramiel, but not assured of winning such a fight. The addition of a Sentinel or a Falcon to that fight assures the Frigates of victory. And such application makes such an attack a Blob. So a Blob becomes any accumulation of force needed to assure victory in an engagement. The victim of a Blob cannot be expected to win. He has to have no chance of winning. Zero chance = Blob.

I avoid all of this by simply never accusing anyone of blobbing me. I get caught with my pants down, so be it. That is on me. I should be a better pilot, smarter than my enemy, more crafty, and better prepared to avoid being slaughtered. I also realize that the "blob" that killed me might have been out looking for bigger prey, in which case they would not be considered a Blob. Only to me, of course. I also know that I will often have ten or so pilots along with me and we attack everything we come across, which can also sometimes be considered a blob. Even though we aren't doing that on purpose.

On purpose. And here it comes, the truth of the matter. While Blobs are situational and rely on a loser's perception, there are times when such a creature is deliberate and purposeful. When there can be no doubt associated with its application. There are those that construct a Blob solely for the intention of assuring victory in a single application of force. Such an assemblage being constructed for one purpose and one purpose only - to avoid risk.

And that my friends is when a spade becomes a spade. That is when you become an amorphous pile of snot, when you purposefully avoid risk by becoming a Blob. Only you might know this about yourself, and that is fine. Because only you have to live with that knowledge.

Yes. I did just take a few days off from my usual rapid-fire, awesome, daily uber-posting schedule. Four days to be precise. Everyone, even your friendly neighborhood blogger, needs a break from time to time.

I was crazy busy leading up to the Holiday weekend. It took about two weeks to get everything organized and moved to our new HQ in Ishomilken. Which cut into my fun-time considerably. (My play is divided into two parts: Fun and Work. I try to minimize the work as much as possible!)

But 12 Freighter round trips and 6 Carrier round-trips fall into the work side of Eve. Something that has to be done, even if I don't like it very much. (Don't tell anyone, but I really don't mind. I'm writing this mostly as posturing to maintain my steely eyed Pirate persona. Shhh.)

So I've been somewhat settled into Ishomilken for a little over a week at this point. So what do we think about our new home? To be honest, there is so much to like about this area that it boggles the mind. I know those of us who tried to plan our move spent some considerable time and effort pouring over the map, scouting and generally trying our best to find a decent place to move. But you never really know for sure until you get there. And while I've flown all over New Eden, the fact that I spent much of the past three years in and around Verge Vendor might have something to do with the fact that Ishomilken feels like a much needed breath of fresh air.

It is so perfect that our base station undock is almost a perfect straight-shot to the High Sec gate. I kid you not.

It is a nutty place. Busier than Hevrice was, but in so many different ways. In fact, the variety of scale is rather significantly different. Verge had become a rather predictable and regular place, a collection of small to medium plexers hunted by bands of solo and small gangers, inhabited by large groups, and sometimes passed thru by larger entities. Meanwhile, this borderland region between The Citadel and Black Rise, seems much more chaotic and less regulated. A constant stream of insanity bordering on chaos.

I think we did rather well finding a new home. Stay Frosty seems to fit in rather nicely here among the chaos. (We still haven't gotten around to gate camping, my apologies to certain other parties that seemed determined to believe that is why we moved.)

I've also noticed that the Faction types up this way are much more prone to risk-aversion than those in VV. They tend to run away more often, or otherwise fit more stabs, cloaks, or hide when danger comes along. I've seen gangs of six or more run away from my solo ship, or a small gang. Last night a group of about 14 ran away from my Maller, even though they had me in half-armor. But this is tempered by the fact that there are many, many more hunters than prey. At least this is how it seems after a few weeks. This is good news, as it provides just the right amount of challenge to keep things interesting. Believe it or not, no one enjoys having to prey on faction targets in plex all day. That gets rather boring rather quickly.

All in all my first impressions of our new home are all positive. Everyone seems energized and excited by the move, which is exactly why we did it. To shake things up, to meet new people, to challenge ourselves and get on with becoming an even better group of fun-loving pirate types.

On my ninth birthday my Aunt gave me this book as a gift. That was (and I'm giving away my age here) in 1975 and I've been an avid reader of science-fiction ever since. (And Fantasy and other genres as well, but science-fiction has always been my bread and butter)

Someone on our forums recently asked about what books to read if you are thinking about starting to read science-fiction. And it struck me, that might not be as obvious an answer to some people as it is to me.

So here is what I would consider a basic primer for building a foundation into the world of science-fiction enjoyment for the beginner. Or, if you've missed any of these, for the more seasoned veteran as well. This is NOT intended as a comprehensive list, but more as a guide to establishing a well-rounded narrative from which you can start to make your own decisions about what to read next.

DUNE by Frank Herbert
I always recommend DUNE first because it is extremely well written, engaging, and thought-provoking. The themes are timeless, the world expansive, and Herbert's love of ecology is as important now as it was when he wrote it. You can also choose to read just the first book, or dive deeper into the entire series. Personally I would recommend the entire run of original Frank Herbert books. Dune is an excellent place to start because it mixes so many genres together so well.

FOUNDATION by Isaac Asimov
The next cornerstone series is by the great Isaac Asimov and is called FOUNDATION. It is a must read for any science-fiction fan and will open your eyes to big ideas, timeless history, and engaging thoughts about the future of humanity. Again, like DUNE, this is a series and any of the original books are worthy of your time.

Ray Bradbury
There are two authors in this post that I am going to treat in a special way, Ray Bradbury being one of them. They deserve this special treatment because they are incredibly talented writers, and because you can essentially pick up anything they've written and be the better for reading it. In addition, they are both prolific short-story writers and make for excellent "in-between" reads, for when you've finished a novel and want something short before you start another. At least that is how I read. Pick up a Bradbury, sit back, and let him tell you a story. You won't regret it.

Harlan Ellison
The other special author is Harlan Ellison. Another incredible short story author whose works push the boundaries and expand the mind of anyone that reads them. In addition, his Dangerous Vision anthologies are cornerstone works into many other authors and I can't recommend them enough. But also check out his classic collections, or just pick up The Essential Ellison and dive right in.

Robert Heinlein
You can't go wrong with choosing any Robert Heinlein novel, but I'd recommend starting with "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" and then moving on to Arthur C. Clarke's "Childhood's End" and then maybe freak yourself out with "Stranger in a Strange Land". But there are so many great books in his collection, you can't go wrong with any of them.

RINGWORLD by Larry Niven
Larry Niven's Ringworld series is another cornerstone must-read for any science-fiction fan. Featuring one of the biggest ideas in all of science-fiction, Niven manages to paint a future that is massive and yet extremely personal at the same time.

HYPERION by Dan Simmons
This is another series that I often recommend to the beginning reader for various reasons. Mr. Simmons is a more modern author, but more than that this series expands upon what science-fiction is really about at its core and twists it in ways that are unusual and engaging. As with all of these suggestions, this series will open doors to other pathways and authors that you may want to investigate further.

TITAN by John Varley
Like Hyperion, John Varley's Titan trilogy (Titan, Wizard, Demon) are amazing works on their own, but they also provide a great beginning into additional works and other pathways that you may want to explore on your own.

Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison
I can't recommend these books enough. Science-fiction isn't always stuffy and serious and the Stainless Steel Rat series is the perfect place to enjoy a rather lite adventure series with a sense of humor.

And that is a rather brief, but rather comprehensive, foundation to a life of enjoying science-fiction. There are literally hundreds of other authors, books, and series that could be on this list. The history of science-fiction is rife with hidden treasures and amazing tales, but you have to start somewhere. And these are great places to get started, without diving all the way to the Time Machine and HG Wells.

Enjoy and remember, reading is fundamental.

Feel free to make any other suggestions in the comments for those visiting.

This week we celebrate the return of legendary Pirate Mynxee to Eve! Not only has she returned to us after a three-year absence, but she has decided to fly with us in Stay Frosty. Seriously, can news be any better?

About two weeks ago, right out of the blue, I got a DM thru Twitter from the Mynx. Since then we've been quietly talking back and forth about her return to the game. I appreciate that our insane bunch of misfit toys isn't everyone's bag of tea, but I also appreciate the fact that it is the perfect place for lot of players looking for something a tad more "casual" than the usual usual.

So I'd just like to take a moment and publicly welcome our long-lost Mynx back to the game. All of us look forward to flying together, and dying gloriously in balls of fire.

Whatever happens with all that rust you've accumulated over the past three years, just remember that yesterday I hit the approach button instead of the warp away button and lost my Comet to a gang I should have easily avoided. Last week one of our Stay Frosty pilots lost a nearly billion isk Tristan because they forgot to take the valuable Faction Webs they'd scored, out of the cargo bay. Neither myself, or they, or anyone else, has been kicked or beaten or even told to do better. Because, d'uh.

Some people tend to take the idea of "casual" play, the wrong way. We are extremely casual Eve players dedicated to casual play in a way that is not at all casual. If that makes any sense. Of course we have no minimum time requirements, you can play whenever and however you want. You can be on comms, or not be on comms, that is totally up to you. You can fly in a gang, or go out solo. You can FC or just ride along. Take two or three people into Null Sec, or jump a missioning Vargur and get wtf-pwned by the gang that shows up. (Did that the other day myself!) And be assured that no one will say boo about it.

I didn't ask Mynxee to join Stay Frosty. Just as I've never asked any of the other pilots in Stay Frosty to join. They've all come for a lot of reasons, their own reasons, their own backgrounds, experiences, and dreams. But what has been fascinating over the past year has been the developing shared thing that is the heart of something. Our group is developing its own heart, a shared spirit, that is amazingly awesome to watch.

Moves can be traumatic and stressful times, especially for a group as large as ours. But our recent move has gone as smooth as glass. Everyone picked up, did what needed to be done, and pitched in where needed. Pilot's stepped up, delivered (literally), and made things happen for anyone that needed help. And I'm sure that will only continue as some of our casual players return over the next few weeks to discover that we've moved while they were gone. lol.

I know. I talk a lot about my Corporation. Sue me, I'm proud of our pilots and our players. They are a great group and they continue to make Eve a fun place to log into every day.

-A Band Apart- Pilot Profiles is a new series of posts that feature players from our Alliance that share their stories, experiences, and play-styles.

This post features Sekrit Spai, not a lot is known about this mysterious player. Other than his IP Address, place of residence, Social Security number and credit rating, of course.

• Tell us a little about your background in Eve.

You don't really appreciate the term "water-boarding" until you've experienced it. My background? I'm an alternative character created under the two week trial. I spent my first weeks in an NPC Corp doing nothing but training basic skills. I hopped into an innocuous HS Corp that funnels trial alt accounts to build a buffer resume, then applied to Stay Frosty under open recruitment. I have yet to undock from a station.

My main?! You must be... ouch! [EDITOR: GIve us a minute here, what follows is NSFW or Children under 17]

>cough< [Blood Spit] My, my main is... my main is Akini Mendoza, a pilot in another large Pirate organization. Look it up, it's all there.

• How did you first hear about SF, LH and MATH?

You're kidding right? [EDITOR: Subject was assured of our seriousness] Who hasn't heard of these, these things! They're everywhere, you can't turn around in Eve without bumping into someone from one of these corps! What the Hell do you want me to say!?! That I'm jealous? That... is that what you want me to say? "Cause I'm not y'know! Rixx is a wanker.

• What is it that you enjoy most about your Corp?

It ain't my corp mate. It ain't even a real corp, not a real pirate corp. No one yells at anyone, when was the last time you hot-dropped someone, and you don't use links! Everyone is so friggin' friendly it's sickening. No one yells obscene insults at the top of their lungs on comms, or degrades women, or exposes their insecurities about cultures they don't understand! Or, or shares pictures of men's genitalia. Right there!! That's all the proof you need.

• What have you learned since joining?

I've learned that being a spai in Stay Frosty is about as boring as mining ice in Null Sec. I stole like 20 Frigates from the corp hangar the other day and no one even noticed. Heck, one of the bozos in Corp chat offered to just give me a fully fitted Atron if I would undock and go on a roam! I don't undock man, I'm a spai.

• Do you have any advice for players who want to start PvPing?

Yeah, don't join Stay Frosty. All they do all day is whiz around in their Frigates and explode things, mostly themselves! That isn't PvP! Join a proper corp that demands minimum requirements, fleet discipline, that knows how to hot-drop, use links, and doesn't allow their members to just wander off all over the damn place. For goodness sake.

• What are your goals for yourself, or for your Corp?

Until today I was patiently waiting to discover where Rixx keeps his Titan. I know he has one and I was determined to steal the damn thing. I haven't given up, cut off one head and two will take its place! But now? I dunno, guess I'm headed for biomass.

• Do you have a funny Eve story you could share?

I was hanging out in the Stay Frosty Spai Lounge the other day in Station, with the other spais. The lounge is really nice, free doughnuts and coffee. That is one thing good about these losers, they do take good care of their spais. Anyway, we were all playing RISK, when that guy from... well that isn't important. I guess I don't really have any funny stories. Eve is serious business!

• What is your favorite thing about Rixx (lol)

I hate Rixx. He is such a wanker. His ammo choices are notoriously horrid and he dies all the friggin' time! He is just the worst. Which, come to think of it, is my favorite thing about him.

Can I go now?

If you are looking to spai on Stay Frosty please join our public channels in-game. Recruitment is always open. We also take players that want to play Eve.

Last Blog Banter we talked about heroes in EVE Online. The followup to that topic has been provided by Wilhelm aka The Ancient Gaming Noob:

Write about somebody who is "space famous" and why you hate/admire them, somebody who isn't space famous but you think should be or will be, or discuss space fame in general, what it means, and how people end up so famous.

I'd like to add another take on the subject, is there a cost of being famous in EVE and if so, is it worth the price?

_________________________

I have no other perspective on this topic than my own. So I will tell you right off the top, and please keep this in mind as you read further, I never intended to be "space famous" or have any sort of "eFame" or whatever you want to call a few thousand people that recognize you in a internet spaceship game. That was never my intention. I started down this path to have fun, chronicle my adventures, do some fan art, and comment from time to time about my new hobby.

Nothing that I do in Eve, from writing this blog, to running the best pirate corporation in the game, to Twitter Hats, art commissions, running events, or anything else that I happen to get involved with (like Eve Dumb Ways to Die) is done for any other reason - other than to have fun. I don't have a hole to fill in my life, I'm not desperately seeking attention, nor do I do things for any other reason than the usual - I always overdue it. I can't help myself. I tend to put everything I have into things I care about, it has been my pattern from way back when I was knee-high to a grasshopper. Can't stop nature.

There are times, in-game, when I sometimes wish for a bit more anonymity. I tend to attract attention, which directly relates to my ability to get good fights. People tend to seek me out, sometimes for good fights and sometimes to pod me. I usually get primaried. I tend to get station-camped. And there are some who spend their in-game time chasing me for twelve jumps just to catch me on a gate camp. It happens. I used to get slammed a lot in local for being a "blogger". (Which is an odd insult, since it is quite obviously the truth. It'd be like someone slamming me for being a Man. D'uh.)

Thing is, all good things come with some bad things. There are, after all, two sides to every coin. But in this case, the bad side is so small and insignificant as to barely matter. Yes, I do often wonder what my Eve career would've been like had I sought less attention, had I never started this blog. But those are only moments of frustration. They don't amount to anything other than casual games of "what if". The good far outweighs the bad.

In six years of playing Eve I've made friends from South Africa, Crete, Poland, Serbia, Russia, England, Whales, Australia, New Zealand, Iceland, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Estonia, Indonesia, and just about every other major point on the globe. I've helped at least three people that I know about find gainful employment, and tried to help at least a dozen more. I once helped someone move to the US. And I've given advice to more about doing so. I stay in contact, in real life, with dozens of fellow current or former Eve players. My real life is richer because of my fake hobby. I wouldn't change any of that for anonymity.

I'd also like to think, in my own small corner of the Eve Universe - both in and out of game - that I've managed to make Eve a better place by my presence. This might be hubris on my part, but I would like to think that my contributions have made Eve slightly better. There are, after all, frills on the Vagabond. Every day, on average, about four thousand people read this blog, so that has to mean something.

And if it all amounts to nothing more than that, then so be it. I've said it many times before, it is the journey and not the destination that is important. The last six years have been an amazing journey and I'm looking forward to the next six years.

I'm having more fun in Eve now than I ever have before. And ultimately that is the true measure of success in Eve. Space Fame? I don't really believe in it. What I do believe in is hard work, dedication, and enjoyment. I don't get up every morning to write a blog post hoping to become famous. I do it because I enjoy it. I don't log into Eve every day hoping to become famous. I do it because I enjoy it, I enjoy the people I fly with, and I look forward to what happens next.

The rest? Well, I'll leave that up to other people to judge. There are more people involved with Eve that have never heard of Rixx Javix, than people who have. So how famous is famous? It is all about perspective.

-A Band Apart- Pilot Profiles is a new series of posts that feature players from our Alliance that share their stories, experiences, and play-styles.

This post features Alice Vorpalis a proud member of Lucifer's Hammer, and alt character of a Stay Frosty pilot.

• Tell us a little about your background in Eve or in this case, how I started to play Eve

I have known for some time that there existed a spaceship game named Eve, there was a TV commercial some years ago. But at that point it was just some mmo with a monthly fee and thus I did not give it a second thought. That was a few years ago.

In the late summer of 2013 a friend of mine had read an article about the link between Dust and Eve. We had never heard of such a connection between games before and I, slowly getting tired of Planetside 2 at that time, got courious, so I registered on a trial account with Harpye and started to play, and read about how this immense universe is working.

Two weeks later I was so excited about the game that I subscribed for half a year. After I had finished the tutorials and the sisters of eve arc I started to trade in Amarr and station trading is my main source of income ever since.

• How did you first hear about SF, LH, MATH

When Harpye, my first character, was six weeks old, I decided to give piracy a try. Since loosing all highsec access was not an option I created ChingShi Bonney, in memory of the two greatest female pirates history has seen. ChingShi got her own one-man corp, the "Red Flag Raiders" and started to move to lowsec. It was a funny time, sometimes frustrating, nearly no kills and lots of lost Punishers. But lowsec is a cool place and I got to know Karos M'al, a pirate who taught me some basics of pvp. While roaming solo through FW space I met Alexis DeTocqueville who suggested I should join Stay Frosty if I wanted to continue being a pirate.

And that is what I did after some days of consideration and moving my HQ. I only miss my red and black Jolly Roger from The Red Flag Raiders sometimes!

As hauling my goods to Hevrice was always a risk for my neutral trader character Harpye and later Alice, I joined Lucifer's Hammer only to be safe from my fellow pirates, before the corp started to expand.

Alice and Harpye were slowly becoming decent station traders in Amarr and Jita, and I also spent some time trading in Dodixie, but went back to the big hubs after a few weeks.

• What is it that you enjoy the most about your corp?

The central idea of the -ABA- family is to have fun as a team and still be able to do more or less what you want as a single player. That suits me perfectly as I enjoy the lonesome hauls as much as the roams in a small band. At the moment I am focusing on trade and industry in LH and there is no pressure to be online with my SF character.

• What have you learned since joining?

The evil pirates are often very friendly and supportive players. Being a pirate is very funny but also difficult if one wants to win fights and not just have the good fights. I learned that the New Eden cluster is a large and complex place, almost like a real city with 50000 citizens - and I want to explore that place. Being in a corporation and now an alliance is really an enhancement to the whole gameplay. And that Eve is a game for all kinds of gamers, the fighters, the builders and traders etc.

• Do you have any advice for players looking to start PvPing?

Yes: Get enough ISK to buy a stack of T1 frigates and mods, get them over to Hevrice (EDITOR: Or Ishomilken!) and start undocking. Expect to lose those frigates, fly with the more experienced players and ask them how to get better. Have a little patience, it will take time to become a good PVPer, the competition is harsh, but it's a good place to learn and support is just around the corner.

• What are your goals for yourself, or for your corp?

Actually, my goal was to make enough passive ISK income in LH to spend my time with ChingShi being the bad pirate.

But right now I spend most of my time with Alice trading and starting some manufacturing and a few services for the corp and alliance. This started because I thought I needed to expand my trading volume to generate enough ISK for ChingShi, especially for the larger ships later on. But then I realized I do enjoy the trading and hauling and now also a little industry as well, so my goals changed.

Piracy has become a secondary goal and building a solid trader, hauler and manufacturer is my main occupation at the moment.

Like Kaytee I want to help building an industrial network of miners, PI-ers (whatever) manufacturers, haulers, traders etc. to support and supply ST-FR and MATH.

• Do you have a funny Eve story you could share?

I was in the last big CCP event and died gloriously to some nullsec gatecamp after more than an hour of crawling with hundreds of other pilots through time dilated space. That was very funny.

Oh, and then there was that war with the Marmite Collective I started accidentally by smack talking in Amarr... Oups!

• What is your favorite thing about Rixx? (lol)

Oh well, he's just that guy, you know?
(EDITOR: This is so true. Even though he doesn't have two heads.)

More to come. If you are interested in a career with A Band Apart and our family of Corporations, please join the EVEOGANDA and/or The Frosty Hammer channels in-game to learn more.

-A Band Apart- Pilot Profiles is a new series of posts that feature players from our Alliance that share their stories, experiences, and play-styles.

This post features Dunmer Orion - who has been with Stay Frosty almost since the beginning.

• Tell us a little about your background in Eve

I've been playing EvE for almost 5 years, I've done most of the major activities except for incursions and Sov/Nullsec. I came into the game right after Apocrypha when wormholes and T3 cruisers were introduced. I heard about the game while listening to an interview of Mynxee on a Battlestar Galactica Podcast called "Galactica Watercooler" (GWC). I guess you can say she was my inspiration for giving the game a go! Initally, I mined and did a lot lowsec ratting and combat sites. But after a time I decided to go to the dark side. I still have alts that do industry and mine; but my primary game is Piracy. Everything else is pretty much dedicated to making isk for Pew.

• How did you first hear about SF, LH, MATH

I've been a reader of EVEOGANDA since I started the game in 2009. I actually considered joining LURCH back in the day. However, my playtime is varied and sporatic. It would've been hard be meet the time commitments of NullSec.

• What is it that you enjoy the most about your corp?

Before I came to SF I was in a small corp composed of RL friends. We could barely get together, so I spent most of my time dual-boxing an alt or true solo roaming. Since joining I have learned what it's like to fly with a great team! Comms or no comms...we kill some serious $hit! Egos are left behind and this team can make things happen! Stay Frosty fits right into my schedule...solo if you want, but there's usually a group to gang with also.

• What have you learned since joining?

I've become a much better pilot. I've learned how deadly Frigates and Destroyers can be and win or lose I'm getting a lot of good fights! I've also learned the value flying in a small gang. This crazy group of guys really enjoy flying together...I'm proud to be a part of that :).

• Do you have any advice for players looking to start PvPing?

Find a ship you like that's cheap and you're skilled for. Then go out and fight! However, don't just throw them at anything (that comes later, lol) but think about the engagements. Over time you'll actually be able to think "while" your fighting and adjust your tactics. If you get killed, ask for the fit or check out the Killboards. You can learn a lot about fitting that way. Also, there are plenty of great PVP videos on youtube and Twitch (Kill2, Joffy Aux, Zeo...just to name a few), check them out.

Come to grips with the fact that your going to lose ships and or pods, but you should learn something from every engagement. If you're in a gang...you may lose a ship but "win" by being part of a really nice kill! Join Stay Frosty! There's always room for you and we'll answer your questions (and we have cookies).

• What are your goals for yourself, or for your corp?

I'd love to have a Titan kill mail...lol!

• Do you have a funny Eve story you could share?

Well this one time...I got stuck in a Wormhole for like 5 hrs! Back when you really needed to know how to scan well and at the time I didn't. I entered this C3 WH that hadn't been touched in a while and didn't bookmark the entrance (I know right?!). About 30 signatures later I found the exit!

• What is your favorite thing about Rixx? (lol)

He's created a great Corp/alliance! No, drama (mostly...), no BS or egos. Just a place for folks that enjoy the game. And have you seen his Art work!? The man's a genius I tell you!

(EDITOR: Awww, shucks!)

For more about A Band Apart or our Corporations, please join the in-game channels EVEOGANDA and/or The Frosty Hammer. Even if it is just to threaten to destroy us, we enjoy that too!

The worst kept intel this week is that Stay Frosty has moved to the bitter blackness of the Citadel system called Ishomilken. It was never intended to be a secret, as you might guess, Rixx flying around your system for two weeks is usually enough to warrant some suspicions.

The process for picking our new HQ was pretty simple really and much like throwing darts at a map. It came down to two choices, Ish and one down in Amarr FW space. (I'm not going to name that one because we will probably move there next time!) And yes, just a head's up, we move every so often. I don't know what it is about people that somehow think staying in the same damn place is good for you. But, to each his own, we don't do that.

I will settle some speculation right now and officially declare that Stay Frosty, a Corp that flies 83.6% solo, has moved to Ishomilken for the sole purpose of becoming Gate Campers! Yes, that is right. We've done nothing for the past year except dream of the day when we could all sit for hours in the darkness of space waiting for some poor unsuspecting schmuck to come thru the gate, or undock from a station. Ahh, the infinite joys of camping. My guys and gals are literally chomping at the bit, getting those HICs fitted up that the majority of them can't fly yet, and practicing not moving. Oh boy!!

Obviously that is just stoopid. Don't get me wrong, if someone yells about an Orca on the other side of a gate... well then, we might just plant ourselves on the other side! Who wouldn't?

To all our new neighbors I say "Howdy!" Let me tell you a bit about Stay Frosty. I'm bringing about 200 of the most awesome, fun-loving, crazy ass pilots to your neck of the woods. We fly to find good fights, and we will fight anything. We have no sense. We have no desire to maintain kill-board stats or efficiencies. My peeps are free to do whatever they want, whenever they want, and they always do. We range far and wide, so it is hard to tell if any of us will even be in local should you come visit. We don't hang out in the traditional sense. We fly wherever and whenever we want.

We typically fly Frigates. We fly them because they are fun to fly and they are very cheap. We also fly them because we hand them out to our pilots for FREE. So there are always a lot of them. (Although we don't actually have the Corp Hangars fully stocked yet, we are working on that.)

You will always get a "gf" in local from us. We often send you isk or a friendly note after a fight, and if you put up a very good fight, we might even trade you back your loot in station. (It happens!) This is why most of our new members come from people we've recently fought. Funny how that works.

Everyone in Stay Frosty is here to play Eve. We love the game and we enjoy flying around and getting into trouble. We are not here to side with anyone, to take anything, to own something. We moved here for a breath of fresh air and to meet new people, have stimulating conversations with them, and explode their ships.

Pretty simple.

We are going to need lots of explosions. My god, but this Caldari space is drab, boring, and GRAY! Sheesh. So dark. Kinda saps the spirit don't it?

-A Band Apart- Pilot Profiles is a new series of posts that feature players from our Alliance that share their stories, experiences, and play-styles.

This post features Soro Harbon, now a member of Supreme Mathematics - our new WH Corp!

• Tell us a little about your background in Eve

First played in 2008 for about a year, mining and missioning in HS. Spent the first 4 months without speaking to hardly anyone and learning lessons the hard way. Joining a corp was a revelation, met some great guys and had a lot of fun but eventually got a bit tired of the game, sold my characters and left.

Started Soro as a missioner, missioned with him until I had enough standings for jump clones with an NPC corp, and basic BC skills. After that it was wh's all the way. Solo'd a C1/HS, ran a C2/C1/HS with my then Corp Voodoo Children, and moved on to a stint with sleeper social club in a c5/c3 taking part in a number of sieges and fleet fights as well as making silly isk on C5 capital escalations. Lack of regular log in time led to frustration as I was never on to see any action so moved on to a stint with RVB, and learnt a whole new EVE! Great fun finding out how to lose ships and fly frigs in generally small gangs. Instant on action every time you logged in. That paled after a while, tried FW and even went out to Null for a few weeks but not for me, so I found myself at a loose end with very little log in time but struggling to find a home. Out of Rixx's departure from tuskers grew SF, who advertised a casual attitude to logging in and I thought I would give the pirate life a try.

• How did you first hear about SF, LH, MATH

Long time follower of Rixx's blog Eveoganda

• What is it that you enjoy the most about your corp?

FUN - log on, choose a ship, find some trouble! Always some good banter in corp chat and great pilots to fly with from whom I've learnt a lot.

• What have you learned since joining?

Follow Joffy's advice exactly. I remember him telling me off for nerfing the tristan fit he gave me by not fitting a T2 EANM because I didn't have CA1 and CA2 fitted. Followed his advice and have loved flying the tristan ever since. As my confidence grew have tinkered with fits and flying different ships. I blow up lots of ships, some I'm piloting and some not but I always really enjoy the fluid nature of small frig warfare whether solo or in a fleet.

• Do you have any advice for players looking to start PvPing?

Do what Joffy tells you! You won't go wrong.

• What are your goals for yourself, or for your corp?

Knock the rust off my WH skills to help establish MATH, do some WH hunting and kill some sleepers.

• Do you have a funny Eve story you could share?

Wife aggro is the worst aggro:

kill mail

Victim: Husband

Corp: RealLife

Alliance: Marriage

Faction: Nice Guys

Destroyed: Life

System: At-Home

Security: 4.0

Damage Taken: 680222100500

Involved parties

Name: Wife (laid the final blow)

Security: -9.9

Corp: RealLife

Alliance: Unknown

Faction: Annoying Females

Ship: Republic Fleet PainInTheAss

Weapon: Caldari Navy Nagging Array

Damage Done: 680222100500

Destroyed Items:

'Respect' Energy Transfer I

Integrity Booster II

Freedom of Choice Overdrive

600mm Male Genitals

Nagging Shield II

"Brosefs" Honor Accelerator

Jb5 Mid Life Crisis Disruptor

Micro Auxiliary Porn Downloader

Dropped items:

Bank Account II

Children, Qty: 4

• What is your favorite thing about Rixx? (lol)

While Rixx espouses a casual style of gameplay and leads by example he also puts a tremendous amount of work in behind the scenes, along with his directors, to keep SF pilots informed, provide tools for communication like the forum/blog, does amazing artwork, and promotes the fun of playing the game to a wider community through events like the FFA.

Its been great to be small part of the journey so far and hope to continue down the road with A Band Apart for a long time yet.

Thanks Soro for taking part in this series. Supreme Mathematics is a part of the Band Apart family, including Stay Frosty and Lucifer's Hammer - and they are currently wtf pwning WHs all over the place! So get those API verified apps in and jump into the hole with MATH!

As Stay Frosty approaches its first birthday, it is time to make some changes. Now that Lucifer's Hammer has found a home in HS, and MATH is settling into its cozy new WH, one of those changes is for SF to move into a new HQ. We will be leaving our office in Hevrice and in Gultraten open, but we've moved our base of operations over the past few days.

We've been in Hevrice for a year. It has served its purpose. In fact, it has served many purposes since the day I warped over to the other station and planted the Stay Frosty flag in Station VI. Nearly 400 pilots have passed thru our doors since that day, and nearly 250 remain, the vast majority of those no longer with us remain good friends, trusted frenemies, or valuable sources.

Why move? You really should be asking, why would a pirate corporation NOT move? Staying in the same place promotes stagnation, idleness and boredom. New Eden is a big place and, while we encourage our pilots to fly wherever they want, it helps to engender a certain spirit in the soul to just pick up and plant your flag somewhere else for a change. Time to shake the cobwebs, visit new lands, meet new people and explode their ships. It is time to spread out a bit.

It is no secret why we started in Hevrice. My entire Eve career has been built on flying towards danger zones, not away from them. From the time I first flew into Null Space as a two-week old, I have flown into War Zone after War Zone on purpose. Joining wars, leading wars, invading, retreating, invading again. Causing trouble. Hevrice was the worst possible place to start a brand new Pirate corp, and many people felt the need to tell me that over the past year. It was the worst place, which is exactly why I did it. There are those that always felt it had something to do with them, and it never did. Their own egos won't allow them to think differently. They also felt the need to Station Camp, Gate Camp, War Dec, and often deploy more link alts than actual pilots. And yet, strangely enough, Stay Frosty continued to thrive. We have more pilots now than ever before. (Hard to reconcile these things, isn't it?)

Yes, many of those people will take this opportunity to try and spin this move. I'm sure many of them will be popping up in the comments below. Believe me, I understand. Rixx is not a normal person, he doesn't operate in the way you would like him to operate, he doesn't act normal, react normal, or fall into any category that makes it easy to label. He just keeps on doing the weird thing. He just won't stay dead. He is such a wanker.

All of that is true by the way. I've never claimed any different. I am terrible at Eve. I am a wanker. Please pay no attention to me. But I will continue to do what I think is the hardest thing to do. I will continue to fly towards danger and not away from it. I will continue to find the worst place to be, and fly over there. Because that is where adventure lies.

As for Stay Frosty, we have bigger plans. And, in order to achieve those plans, we need a new place to call home for awhile. Gotta keep the blood flowing, put new challenges in front of us, shake the dust from our wings, and get down to the business at hand.

It is an extremely exciting time for us. And the perfect time for you to join in and have a blast Staying Frosty!

The Rixx Javix Store

Welcome to EVEOGANDA!

Eve + Propaganda = Eveoganda. Your one-stop Eve Magazine and gateway to the Eve Community, for over seven years Eveoganda has been raising Hell, taking names and openly mocking things that need to be mocked. All in the name of fun, adventure and internet spaceships.

Email me at RixxJavix@gmail.com

Support Eveoganda

Take a moment and click on our sponsor's ad to help support this blog.

Followers

Legal Stuffs

EVE Online and the EVE logo are the registered trademarks of CCP hf. All rights are reserved worldwide. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. EVE Online, the EVE logo, EVE and all associated logos and designs are the intellectual property of CCP hf. All artwork, screenshots, characters, vehicles, storylines, world facts or other recognizable features of the intellectual property relating to these trademarks are likewise the intellectual property of CCP hf. CCP hf. has granted permission to EVEOGANDA to use EVE Online and all associated logos and designs for promotional and information purposes on its website but does not endorse, and is not in any way affiliated with, EVEOGANDA. CCP is in no way responsible for the content on or functioning of this website, nor can it be liable for any damage arising from the use of this website.